Monday, May 9, 2011

I'm just guessing, but I bet there's some old French kitchen expression that roughly translates to, "Hey, it has crispy, fried duck skin crumbled over the top, how bad can it be?" This video recipe for duck fat homefries is perfect when you find yourself in possession of this highly coveted ingredient.

The recipe is the easy part, finding duck skin is a little more challenging. The easiest method of attainment is to know a duck hunter. They can hook you up faster than you can say, "Nice Elmer Fudd hat." If that's not an option, try and make friends with line cooks who work at restaurants that serve duck. They can make it happen, and it will probably only cost you a couple draft beers.

Finally, you can go to a butcher that sells whole ducks, and have him break one down for you. Tell them you'd like two nicely trimmed breasts, two leg quarters, and all the excess skin from the rest of the carcass. They will smile knowingly, and say no problem (for extra credit, ask for the bones, which you can roast and make a killer stock).

Once you have your precious skin, the recipe is a breeze. If you can find green garlic, it's very nice in this, but regular onions, leeks, shallots, scallions, etc. are a fine substitute. These potatoes would sure make a memorable side dish to a seared, sous vide duck breast, or how about as a plate-mate to a creamy goat cheese omelet? By the way, I'm much hungrier now than I was when I started this post. Enjoy!

Whenever I find myself in possession of duck fat it goes into a pan with potatoes. I haven't thought of rendering the skin and using the cracklings, though. Yup, sounds amazing. And I've been really enjoying green garlic this year. It is my current favorite member of the allium family. Guess I'll have to score some duck skin and I'm going for the whole duck.

my butcher in this neighborhood is sadly lacking, but this recipe looks divine. i know bacon is the first thing most people will go to for an alternative fat, but i'm wondering if it'll crisp up as well as it did with the duck? i'm not sure if there's a delicious mammal with similar properties that my butcher won't make a face at me for.

I spent several hours on your blog the other night. I love, love, love, love, love (did I mention love?) it.

I'm only starting to venture into unknown territories with my cooking and I find your videos to be not only informative but at the same time entertaining, which is crucial for me (who wants to watch another boring cooking demonstration?). They're the PERFECT length, and I just adore your sense of humor. :)

I found myself thinking of your recipes when I did my grocery shopping the other day. I even bought a couple ingredients I never would have bought before (tomatillos? Hello!).

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say you have a new fan. I even registered at Saveur to vote for you. Hope you win.

Keep up the AWESOME work -- you're talented, inspiring, entertaining and to top it off a wonderfully addictive blogger. Thanks!

actually, there is an easy to find substitute for duck fat, but it is not as good (well, nothing is...).you can use chicken skin, aka the source of real Jewish margarine. the skin won't be as crisp (its thinner) and the the fat is not as tasty (again, nothing is), but it is lip-smacking-good, and according to my grandma good for-ya.

the skin on the thighs has the most fat, typically if you buy leg&thigh quarters it has even more fat (from the tail area).